Age of Shadow
by Linker of Worlds
Summary: After a horrible accident, Shadow along with Sonic and Amy are stranded somewhere unfamiliar. Outside forces seem to war for their control, but the question is: will they ever get home? Shadow/Amy/Sonic triangle
1. Prologue

Prologue: Age of Shadow

Disclaimer: This is a crossover fic… sort of. Mostly. I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the named characters (including but not limited to Sonic, Shadow, Amy, and Eggman). I also do not own any of the storyline of Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, Uru: To D'ni, Uru: Path of the Shell, Myst Online: Uru Live, or Myst V: End of Ages. The concept of Linking Books, Yeesha Pages, Ages, D'ni, etc. is property of CyanWorlds Inc.

What I do own: This idea, and Angelus.

Pairings: ShadowxAmy, SonicxAmy, mentioned KnucklesxRouge

Storyline Premise/Teaser:

During a routine battle with Eggman, Shadow's Chaos Control mixes with one of Eggman's energy weapons with devastating results. Now, trapped in a world beyond their own, Shadow, Amy and Sonic have to use all their wits, cunning, and patience to make it through to the end. But with the mysterious hedgehog Angelus in their path, they have their work cut out for them. And just who are Yeesha and Escher, and why do they constantly appear before our intrepid trio?

-Linker of Worlds


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The explosion rocked Eggman's base from end to end. Shadow was already gone, skating through the maze of corridors as he raced for the bridge. His hand was clenched around his gun, a custom-built .22 Rouge had given him a year prior, and sweat was beginning to bead on his brow.

He had only heard of the attack half an hour ago. Eggman had attacked, Sonic had gone in, and Amy had foolishly followed him. Tails was too busy coordinating attacks with GUN, and Knuckles was chasing Rouge – she'd taken his blasted rock again. That left Shadow. Tails had called him to aid Sonic after a few hours of radio silence. Reluctantly, he'd armed up and stormed the massive ship. He'd just blown out the aft engines, which meant it was moving much slower. He still had to find Sonic, though.

He rolled under a spray of fire from a few hovering droids. With two sharp barks, they fell to the deck – neat holes through their CPUs. Shadow was gone in a flash, his gun still smoking. He was on the right track, he knew that much. Eggman had been kind (or dumb) enough to leave him signs pointing the way to the bridge. That was where Sonic was bound to be. Shadow ignored an elevator, tri-jumping up the shaft and out onto the third level landing. The bridge was just ahead.

Shadow arrived in time to catch Sonic. The blue hedgehog had been sent flying by a devastating blow from one of Eggman's new (but still tedious) giant mechs. Blood dribbled from his nose, and he looked slightly dazed.

"Shadow!" Eggman barked, leveling his mech's cannon arm at him, "Long time no see!"

Shadow smirked, "Doctor, it's been a while."

"So it has," Eggman agreed, "But you're too late. This cannon will wipe you all off the map!"

"You seem so sure of yourself," Shadow taunted, glancing around and spotting Amy against the far wall. She was slowly inching her way towards them. "Want to try your luck?"

The mech swung a fist at him, but he was already off, ducking between the machine's four spindly legs and firing a few shots at its rear. It looked like Eggman was improving. There wasn't a glaringly obvious weak spot this time.

Amy had reached Sonic. That was good. Both of them would be out of the way now. Or, at least, that's what Shadow thought.

"Isn't this touching?" Eggman teased, pointing the cannon at them both. "So devoted. Perhaps you'll stay that way in the afterlife."

"Damn," Shadow saw the cannon glowing. He was already speeding forward, ducking back through the mech's legs again and drawing his emerald as he went. For a split second, he was ahead of the shot. That was all he needed. "Chaos Control!"

The energy from Eggman's assault collided with his own, and Shadow felt the most unpleasant sensation – as if he was being pulled into the energy. He dug his hands into the metal plates of the bridge, holding himself firm.

"What? No!" Shadow turned in time to see Eggman pulled into the gathering vortex. Moments later, the bridge began to come apart, metal rigging imploding into the void. He managed to catch Amy and Sonic, forming a three-hog chain, but it wasn't a permanent solution.

"Shadow! Use it again!" Amy called, "Get us out of here!"

"I can't!" Shadow yelled over the roar of the whirlpool, "I don't have enough-"

The metal plate he was holding on to ripped free of the deck. With a yell of surprise, he was flung into the rift, Amy still binding him to Sonic. The three of them vanished without a trace, spiraling into infinity.

Shadow's hand swung around, seizing hold of Sonic's forearm and trying to hold them together. It worked for a time, but moments later a 'wave' in the energy tore the blue hedgehog free, and Shadow and Amy watched him vanish into oblivion. A split second later, sunlight burst into Shadow's vision. And then his head hit the ground with a thud that knocked him senseless.

Dun dun dun…

This chapter was supposed to be quick and short. The rest will be longer. But it's 5AM, I haven't gone to sleep yet, and I'm tired. The GOOD stuff comes tomorrow… or as soon as I can update.

-Linker of Worlds


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Shadow's first thought was "It's hot." This was followed by his mind recalling the battle at the base, and the subsequent exodus through the vortex. His eyes sprang open, meeting the harsh glare of sunlight and blue sky. He sat up, holding his hand over his eyes to shield them.

He was in a desert. A godforsaken desert. A volcano jutted up from the ground, aiming into the blue sky, and tiny shrubs defiantly eked out an existence in the hard, sandy soil. A few feet away, a battered blue sign was serving as a support for an unconscious pink hedgehog. Shadow forced himself to stand up and walk over to her. She was alive, which was good. If she'd died, Sonic would…

Shadow jerked as if stung and looked around. The blue 'hog was nowhere to be found. As a matter of fact, the only blue thing in sight was the sky. And, seeing how flat the desert was, there was plenty of that visible.

Amy stirred, looking up at Shadow. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," he said, looking around. A small part of him was worried for Sonic, although he was never going to admit it. He'd rather lick a recently vacated public toilet. "But we should look for some shelter. Dying of exposure has never been one of my top five ways to go."

Amy looked around, "How about behind the sign? Just for now? Don't deserts usually cool off after nightfall?"

Shadow squinted at the sun. "It's still a good eight hours until sunset," he muttered, "But if that's what you want to do…"

She crawled behind the sign without wasting a breath. Shadow took a few steps to follow her when he heard her cry out in surprise. He poked his head around the sign, annoyance plastered on his features. "Now what?"

"Look at this!" she said, gesturing to a brown cloth. Shadow walked up and took a good look at it. It was about a foot on each side, with an elaborate border. In the center was a handprint with a swirled palm. Shadow shrugged nonchalantly. "It's a piece of artwork. Looking at the design, I'd guess tribal or African artwork. Why?"

"Touch it," she commanded, pointing at it. "It's weird."

Shadow reached out and poked the fabric. It felt like burlap. What startled him the most was that the material lit up like a Christmas ornament – only the 'thumb' of the hand, though. "What the hell?"

He grabbed the cloth and tried to tear it free. Even with his strength, though, he couldn't budge it. It was as if the cloth had become part of the sign. Shadow gave up with a grunt, his teeth bared. "Damn thing's a bit stubborn." Amy snickered as Shadow glared at the offending piece of material.

Eight hours passed quickly. Shadow slept for most of them, and Amy sat up and stewed about Sonic's fate and whereabouts. When Shadow finally awoke, the moon was beginning to rise. The desert felt like it was a comfortable temperature, and there didn't seem to be any animals out. Perfect.

"There's a trailer over there," Amy pointed out, indicating a pill-shaped camper a quarter of a mile away, "maybe we should check it out?"

Shadow looked around. Approaching an unfamiliar area from the front usually spelled disaster – something he could attest to personally. "Not from the front," he said as he set off. If his assumptions were correct, he could loop around the back of the volcano and arrive at the trailer from the rear. That would give him an advantage if the owner was hostile. "Come on."

Twenty minutes into the walk, they found another cloth. It was pinned to some skeletal remains larger than both of them combined. Amy shuddered as her green eyes watched the teeth as if expecting them to attack. Shadow sighed and pushed on the cloth.

Again, it lit up. This time, however, the glow included part of the palm. Shadow touched it again, but got the same reaction. So the amount of light given off wasn't directly related to how many times the cloths were pressed. It looked like the more of them he touched, the more they lit up. There had to be a microchip woven into the fabric – how else could a count be kept?

"Ignore it for now," Amy said, "Can we just get to the trailer? Maybe the owner has some water-"

"-or a load of hot lead," Shadow finished darkly, "Trust me. We're better off not disturbing whoever it is."

Amy fell silent, and Shadow felt a twinge of guilt. For all he knew, the hedgehog she was in love with was dead, and she was stuck in the middle of a desert with no one but him for companionship… and here he was being pessimistic.

"Let's go," he said quietly, walking away from the remains. "Maybe you're right. Maybe whoever that is has some supplies… or a phone."

"Hey yeah!" Amy cheered, perking up instantly, "Maybe they do! We could call GUN and see if they can get us out of here."

"_Get YOU out of here," _Shadow thought idly, _"They'd probably shoot me in the chest and leave me to die out here…"_

Shadow and Amy had to pass another pile of shrapnel before they reached the trailer. Amy was the one to notice the scrap of paper near it. Stylized at the top of the page was a duo of birds. After bickering with Shadow for a moment about it, she decided to keep it. Shadow rolled his eyes and kept walking, and almost made the worst mistake of his life.

A fifty foot cleft was gouged into the earth, and surrounded by fences. Shadow, in his haste, had almost walked through a small gap in the barriers – and it was at least thirty feet to the bottom. Although not lethal, it would have left him in a lot of pain. Shadow, contrary to popular jest, was not a masochist. Pain wasn't something he enjoyed. "Watch out for the pit," Amy remarked idly as he backed away from it. If looks could kill, she would have dropped dead on the spot. However, Shadow's eyes noticed something else.

A third cloth was on the back of the silver trailer. As quietly as possible, he walked over and touched it. Now the whole palm was lit up, as well as the thumb. Three cloths down, and who knew how many to go. Shadow was betting it was either four or eight more. Either the fingers were individual cloths, or they each took two. Or he could be full of crap and not know anything at all, and the cloths were a different number entirely.

The trailer was empty, unfortunately. Not even a phone. No water, nothing. As a matter of fact, it looked as if the owner had cleared out long ago, and left very little in the camper at all. There was a weather-worn paperback outside on the ground, and a faded Hawaiian shirt hanging on one of the trailer's awning supports. In a firepit outside, they found another page (Shadow let Amy have it). Inside, cigarette butts littered the floor, and a single sock lay in a corner. Nothing interesting.

"Well damn," Shadow sighed, "I was hoping for at least a sink…" the kitchen area had been ripped free and taken out of the trailer, either by the owner or by thieves who had found the camper before them. A water pipe led to an empty tank situated beneath the floor, and a soap dispenser lay overturned on the floor. Nothing they could use, unless Shadow felt the compulsive need to wash his hands.

"Maybe there's some rainwater at the bottom of that gorge," he said after a moment, "Come on."

Amy jogged ahead of him, examining the pages they'd found. One with hawks, the other with a crescent moon-and-star design. Nothing Shadow could make any sense of in their current state. He rolled his eyes. For some reason, he got the distinct impression he was being tested.

They arrived at the top of the chasm and stared down into it. Built along the walls were small homes, much like the Anasazi cliff dwellings in the Southern U.S. – maybe that was where they were. Shadow took a deep breath, "Ladies first?" he offered, indicating the ladder.

Amy shook her head defiantly, "After you – what if there's something down there? You've got to go first in case it attacks us!"

"If I go first, you'll be above me," he pointed out.

"So?"

"You're wearing a skirt."

Amy's face flamed crimson. "Oh…" with a smirk, Shadow watched her descend into the chasm.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The inside of the fissure was much cooler than the outside. They had come to rest on a ledge that ran two-thirds of the way along one side. A similar ledge crossed the entirety of the opposing face, and Shadow could see into a room via a single window.

"At least it's cool," he muttered, descending a short set of stone steps and looking around. Three rope bridges crisscrossed the cleft. On the far left was one that had a hole larger than he was in the wooden planks. The second one was a bit better… but not by much. The third, however, had only two planks missing.

"I think this is the best one," he said, stepping out onto the rickety boards. Amy waited until he was about a quarter of the way across before she followed. Both of them held onto the ropes as if the bridge was their last link to survival. The boards creaked and groaned beneath their weight.

Shadow reached the middle of the bridge and heard a sound he didn't like: wood snapping. "Oh crap. Amy, get-"

The bridge broke cleanly in the middle. Shadow fell into the bottom of the gorge, landing with a hard thump on his rear end. He managed to catch Amy before she landed on him, setting her on her feet. He stood up, massaging his rear. "Damn."

Amy's breathing was labored, and her face was flushed. "T-that was close…" she stammered, "I mean… er…"

Shadow walked past her and began to survey their position. The opposing face of the cleft from their starting point had a small ramp leading up, but it led to a closed door. He could see one of those blasted cloths hanging from a water bucket, but it was too high up. There was a footbrake, though. He climbed up and pumped it a bit before giving up. It wouldn't work.

Amy, meanwhile, had discovered something else. "Hey Shadow, look at this!" she yelled, jumping in place. Shadow suddenly realized something – she was out of the cleft. She was actually up on a second, smaller ledge next to the one they had started on.

"How did you get up there, Rose?" he asked, looking around in annoyance.

"You can use the bridge to get up," she said, pointing to the remnants of a fourth bridge. Hanging as it was, the bridge slats made effective rungs. In moments, Shadow had joined her at the top.

"Goody," he said, pointing at another cloth inside a small building. There was a bed and a table, but not much else. He touched the fabric that hung on the wall, watching as now one finger glowed blue.

"Shadow, do ya think Sonic's all right?" Amy asked, looking up and out of the cleft. She was worried, that much was obvious. Shadow, for some bizarre reason, felt both a twinge of pity _and_ a slight stab of jealousy.

"Sonic can handle most things that get thrown at him," Shadow said, "As I understand it, he saved the world solo the first time, didn't he? I think he'll be fine."

Amy gulped and nodded, "Yeah, I guess…" she sat down, with her legs hanging off the ledge. "What about you?"

Shadow blinked, "Me?"

"How are you doing? Isn't this hard for you?"

Shadow took a mental stock of himself before answering. "Back when I first learned how to use Chaos Control, I wasn't perfect, Rose," he said, "There were dozens of times when I would either end up lost in the ARK, or even on some of the other stations in space. Once, it took Gerald and Maria weeks to find me…" he sighed at the memory, "This is something familiar, albeit unusual."

"Oh…" she didn't turn to face him. Shadow sat down on the edge of the bed. He could see their next path – either a jump from one end of the fissure to the other, or a harrowing walk along a trio of two-by-fours. _I think I'd rather jump… lest I end up on my rear again._

"Rose… Amy… are _you_ alright?" he asked, watching her back intently. "This must be hard on you…"

She shook her head, but for a moment Shadow saw the beginnings of a tear in one of her eyes. "I just miss my Sonic, that's all…"

Shadow sighed, "I will not pretend I am not concerned for his well-being," he admitted, "but at the moment all we can do is trust in his skill and speed to help him… and he has plenty of both. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find him. I've tried to lose him a thousand times and he just keeps coming back."

Amy laughed, "Good point, Shadow," she stood up, "where to next?"

"I don't know… do you trust me?" he asked, smiling wryly and walking out onto the ledge. There was another room next to the one he'd been in, and he looked inside. Other than a pair of unusual goggles, it had nothing of interest. Shadow decided to keep the goggles. They might serve him well if he needed to protect his eyes.

"Yes, but why-"

"Then hold on," he said, scooping her up in his arms and taking a running jump at the far side of the cleft. Amy screamed something that sounded like "lunatic" as they sailed through the air. He landed on a lower ledge, right next to the other half of a fallen bridge. He set Amy down and began to climb.

"Shadow, that was the scariest thing you've ever done," she said, breathing hard… "I swear, if you scare me like that again, I'm going to introduce you to my hammer!"

Shadow turned around and smirked at her from at the top of the ladder, "Are you coming or not?"

Amy grudgingly followed him up the ladder and into what seemed to be a laboratory. Some kind of disc-inlaid pyramid sat on the far wall, adorned with what looked like a radar dish. Shelves were cut into the walls, and were covered in bric-a-brac of ages gone past. Shadow was eying a carving by the door. The symbols matched those on the disc/pyramid exactly with only one exception.

The disc (and the carving) was divided into four parts. The top, left, and bottom segments matched each other. However, the far right icon on the wall showed what looked like a loaf of bread. Shadow walked over to the imager and ran his fingers over the incorrect piece. The icon faded away to show a different one. He repeatedly touched it until it changed to look like the loaf on the wall. A few presses of the button at the center of the disc told him it wasn't going to work. With a grunt, he started to look around.

"Hey, I found a lever," Amy called. Shadow followed her into another room via a descending set of stairs. Sure enough, there was a rusted lever near a set of grinding wheels. A shaft led straight up and out of the room, and he could dimly see daylight filtering in. "Oh… I get it."

He turned to Amy, "The windmill. This place needs it turning. Can you wait here?"

He left the room and returned to the Cleft. A jump and a ladder climb later, he was back on the surface, the desert sun having risen slightly. It looked to be sometime around six or seven in the morning. He walked over to the windmill, "Rose, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can." The response was muffled, but audible.

"Good, pull the lever."

"Okay, I did. Some clamps opened. Now what?"

Shadow braced himself against a bar sticking out from the windmill, "Sit tight."

With an almighty shove, the windmill groaned to life. It caught the arid desert wind and began to turn faster, until it spun freely in the rising sun. Shadow returned to the ladder and descended. On a whim, he tried the footbrake by the water bucket again. This time, it lowered.

"Jackpot." He touched the fifth cloth, smirking. It looked like things were functional now.

He climbed the fallen bridge and prepared himself for a jump back into the lab area. Midway through the air, the door to the lab descended. Shadow had no way to stop his momentum, and crashed into it with enough force to set his head reeling.

"Oh my gosh," he heard Amy exclaim, "I swear, I didn't know what that button did!"

"S'okay," he mumbled, rubbing his face, "You gave me a present…"

Hanging on the back of the door was the sixth cloth. He touched it and called for Amy to reopen the door. Moments later, the two of them stood before the disc-device again. The button at the center had lit up brilliantly.

"Go on," he urged Amy, "Touch it."

Hesitantly, she reached out and pushed the button.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A grainy image of a woman flickered to life, standing in the laboratory with them. Shadow jerked away, Amy following suit. Hologram projectors were the _last_ thing he'd expected to find in a cliff dwelling.

"Shorah!" the woman said, "Rekoahn trecleft previn legloen brem…" she paused and put a hand to her head, "Oh yes, not in D'ni, they won't understand…"

She walked around, speaking as she did. "Once again, the stream in the Cleft has begun to flow. It was dry for so long. The water is flowing in from the desert. The storm is coming." She held up a finger as if teaching. Her blue eyes were watching them both, as if she could actually see them, instead of being a hologram.

The woman was dressed in uncommon tribal clothing, apparently made from furs and beads. Her hair was braided into dreadlocks, and a tattoo covered her right eye and part of the left side of her head. Shadow, for once, could only stare and gape at the sight. Amy, too, seemed shocked into silence.

"Have you heard of the city? The deep city? The ancient URU?" she asked, "Where there was power to write worlds. For thousands of years the city lived, lived beneath the surface. Keeper of the secret, keeper of the power, keeper of the Ages… always keeping. The city grew proud, and then it died."

The hologram danced a lilting waltz to the other side of the room. "Water flows where it wills. It seeks its own path uncontrolled except that it flows downward, always downward. D'ni, the city of Ages, of other worlds died. But now it breathes again, it awaits. Some will seek that destination. But YOU should seek the Journey."

The image of the woman walked over to the far side of the lab, where the shelves had been carved. "It's as a fine tapestry, complex beyond comprehension, but now torn. We will show you remnants, pieces of the tapestry… pieces of the Journey." As she spoke a seventh cloth appeared on the wall as she reached out to touch it. "Find these remnants, these Journeys… seven… seven in each Age… seven here in the desert. Consider it a quest… no… a request."

She bowed her head for a moment. "Worship." Her head came up again, "The water flows downward and there it pools and collects and finally, once again, it reaches the roots… and the tree begins to grow again."

Again, she looked straight at Shadow and Amy, "I am Yeesha. My parents brought me to this place. We will bring you."

The hologram walked over to the imager and pushed the button, vanishing from sight.

Shadow and Amy remained frozen for a moment before looking at each other in surprise. "I wasn't expecting that," Shadow admitted, his red eyes wide with shock.

Amy said nothing, but stared back at him with her infinite green eyes. Shadow forced himself to look away, instead walking over and touching the seventh cloth. The whole hand lit up, and he heard a strange trilling sound.

"Now what?" he asked Amy, "You've found most of the answers here, where to next?"

Amy seemed to come to her senses. "There's a tree at the far end of the Cleft," she said, "There's a door with that hand icon on it. Maybe we should try touching it now…"

Shadow nodded. "Good idea."

It didn't take long to reach the tree. Shadow, this time, reached out and touched it. The hand glowed for a moment, and the door receded into the ground. A ladder led downwards, accompanied by a short tunnel. Shadow jumped in.

As soon as Amy was down, the two of them walked through the tunnel. A cave sat at the end. There was a large podium, and atop it rested two books. Shadow and Amy walked up to it and examined the books. Both of them were thin, and had a belt attached to them, as if they were designed to be worn around the waist. Shadow opened his. Inside was a picture of an island in the clouds. Amy's was the same.

Shadow touched the picture. It felt alive. Before he realized what was happening, he felt a sickening sense of motion. There was a sensation of size, as if he was standing before the maw of some great beast. Amy reached out for him, but he was aware of her hand passing _through_ his shoulder. The next moment, everything faded to black.


End file.
